Generously donated by collector and philanthropists Ruth and Sid Lapidus, the collection consists of a library of secondary literature on Thomas Paine and the influence of his thought on the Age of Revolutions, as well as the American Revolution and Early American history more broadly. It includes an up-to-date compilation of Paine biographies, as well as classic and recent scholarly monographs on the legacy of Paine’s writings and political activities. The collection also boasts the ten-volume “Patriot’s Edition” of The Life and Works of Thomas Paine, edited by William van der Weyde and published by the Thomas Paine National Historical Association in 1925. The Lapidus Collection further includes several bibliographies of Paine publications, notably the exhaustive Thomas Paine Collection of Richard Gimbel and the Thomas Paine Collection at Thetford. Finally, the collection contains several prints of George Romney’s 1793 portrait of Paine, completed while Paine served in the National Constituent Assembly during the French Revolution.
